Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Smoked and Baked

These little muffins are the perfect food to enjoy while sitting out by the pool on a late summer's evening, preferably with a wine in hand, music on and with good company, of course.

Unfortunately every night can't be like the one above (unless you never have to work or study or walk your dog or do the washing or feed your cats or run a nation... in that case I envy you) but the best thing about them is that they are much tastier cold - so you can make a batch and eat them for lunch or dinner throughout the week when you're yearning for the festivities of the weekend.

They may seem a little bit fancy, with the moist ricotta full of opulent smoked salmon and luscious tasting dill, but believe me they are so easy to make which means you'll have everyone fooled just like I do!

Baked Ricottas with Smoked Salmon and DillRecipe adapted from Amanda at Cordony's Deli

800g fresh ricotta, drained of any excess liquid (this can be done using a cheesecloth)2 eggs1/2 a big bunch of fresh dill, roughly chopped275g smoked salmon, cut into small pieces80g parmesan cheese, gratedSalt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to about 180 degrees C.Mix the egg, dill, smoked salmon and parmesan cheese into the ricotta until evenly incorporated. Season well with salt and pepper. Lightly spray a 12 hole muffin tin with olive oil. Now using a big spoon, dollop the ricotta mixture into the palm of your hand (there should be enough mixture to make a full handfull). Roll the mixture from hand to hand to create a rough looking ball, which is then placed in the muffin hole. Repeat until all the mixture is used up (this changes depending on how big your muffin tin is). The mixture should be piled quite quite high in each muffin hole as it will not rise when cooking and you want a full looking baked ricotta. Sprinkle with a little bit of extra parmesan if desired.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until golden on top and the ricotta feels stable and cooked through. Leave to cool in tin and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before eating. The ricotta can be baked in smaller mini sized muffin trays if you want to make a nice dish for a cocktail party etc.